Jessica Alba Circling Role As Hit And Run Astronaut In ‘Weightless’

Jessica Alba is in home stretch talks to star as an astronaut in Weightless.

Nutshelled, the Myriad Pictures’ film is about an astronaut in the near-future who flees a hit and run fatal motorcycle accident so as to not lose her place on an upcoming space shuttle launch, only to wind up in a complicated love affair with the brother of the woman who died. Awkward.

Variety reports that Milo Addica (Monster’s Ball, Birth writer), will make his directorial debut on the project. To that end, Weightless is currently being shopped at the European Film Market at the Berlin Film Festival to raise financing.

Alba is also set to reprise her role as Nancy Callahan in Sin City 2 and Machete Kills 2, which suggests the 31-year-old is coming back with some pace after taking a time out in 2012 after the birth of her second daughter.

Recently appearing at the Cartoon Network’s Hall of Games Awards in Santa Monica to present an award and profile her animated kid’s film Escape from Planet Earth before its release this week, The Film Stage muses whether that Alba can break out of the girlfriend/kid market and develop her career along more serious lines.

Certainly, as someone who remembers the nuance Alba brought to her role as Max Guevera in Dark Angel, I am one of those who thinks that if given a strong enough script and direction, she could turn in a strong lead.

Myriad’s Kirk D’Amico is set to produce Weightless with Steve Norris along with Apollo Productions and partners Pinewood Studios and vfx house Double Negative.